This invention relates to the handling and transfer of refuse.
One aspect of environmental consideration which has become of major concern involves the disposal of refuse. The need for practicable techniques for disposing of the great amounts of rubbish being produced daily has given rise to a number of proposals in this area. One common approach has been to dump refuse into sanitary land fill areas. A more recent development involves the transfer of refuse to a refuse-handling facility, such as a power generating plant wherein the refuse is consumed as fuel in the production of energy. In order to assure the economic feasibility of these techniques, it is important that they be performed in as efficient and economical a fashion as possible. The present invention involves one stage of this technique, namely the transfer of refuse from one or more remote stations to the disposal area.
According to conventional practice, refuse is collected by trucks which travel from one source of refuse to another. When the truck is full, it is driven to the disposal area and emptied, and then returned to pick up more refuse. Recently, transfer stations have been introduced to the system to minimize travel of individual trucks from refuse pick-up points to the disposal area. These transfer stations include a compaction device which receives refuse from the collection trucks, and then compresses the refuse, so that it will occupy a smaller volume. The refuse is then transferred to another larger vehicle by which it is transported to the disposal area. An example of one of these systems is disclosed in Bowles U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,139.
These conventional transfer stations require personnel to operate the packer, as well as attendants to supervise the loading of refuse from the packer into trucks. Often, time is lost in attempting to align the truck body with the packer, so that the refuse is transferred into the truck body without spillage.
It would be desirable to perform such operations with a minimal number of one-hand personnel. Understandably, significant savings can be realized from a system requiring little supervision and attention. Of course, this should be accomplished while avoiding the use of unduly complicated and sophisticated equipment which typically involve high costs and frequent servicing.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide improved methods and apparatus for transferring refuse.
It is another object of the invention to provide methods and apparatus for transferring refuse which involve a minimal number of on-hand personnel.
It is a further object of the invention to provide improved methods and apparatus for the conveyance of refuse to a refuse handling facility.